An Alchemists' Dream
by Minit
Summary: The daughter of an Anvil nobleman dreams of being an Alchemist. While out on a gathering mission, she meets up with a group of dungeon delvers. They set out to make their dreams come true, and fix up the Waterfront.
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm, sunny day on the Gold Coast. The sun was shining off of the guards' armor, and the swords they kept in their scabbards. The lights were on in the Benirus Manor. Though there hadn't been a Benirus in the Manor in over two decades, the name had stuck. The owner of the Manor had purchased it twenty five years ago, and helped lift the curse on it. Now he had married, and his daughter was growing into a fine young woman. She stepped out of the manor in her normal fashion, very gracefully, but completely unaware of the beauty she possessed.

Her hair was copper colored, and very, very long. Today it was tied up in a Stick Twist, which was trendy for young maidens. Her skin was lightly tanned, and she wore a dark green linen dress that spoke nothing of her family's wealth. She had always preferred not to flaunt the fact that her parents had quite a fortune. She wore simple dresses, hardly any jewlery, and only carried a short elven dagger at her hip. Like always, she was going gathering.

It had always been Menellis Estina's dream to be a professional Alchemist, even when she was a child. Now that she was seventeen, she had asked for a simple dagger for protection, and joined the Mages' Guild. Borrowing some Alchemy apparatus, she had journeyed out into Anvil County, gathering, planting, and generally avoiding trouble. She usually left at sunrise and returned at sunset, her bag full of ingredients. She collected on weekdays, and on weekends she messed with her Alchemy apparatus. It was Fredas (Friday), and she was looking forward to searching the coast for Lotus and Water Hyacinth. She would try to avoid the Mudcrabs at all costs, they were vicious.

So she stepped off her porch after harvesting some Morning Glory root pulp, and headed towards the North gate. She smiled kindly at the Guards, they were always kind to her.  
"Morning, Menellis. Going out gathering, I suppose?" It was Amius, one of her favorite guards, and a man she considered to be one of her best friends.

"Yes sir, Amius. I was thinking of heading towards the coast, to look for Lotus and Water Hyacinth."

"Watch out for those Mudcrabs. You get yourself in any trouble and you won't be allowed out of the city without one of the guards tagging along."

"Oh, I know." She flashed him a smile, and went through the doors. Following the path, she came upon the stable, admiring her favorite horse. He was white and tall, and graceful. She ran a hand through his shiny mane, and began to go around the castle. Heading towards the Serid River she was lost in thought, going over her inventory. She lived in the remodeled basement of the Manor, her parents had cleaned out all of the necromancers equipment and fungus. Now it was a proper Mages' room, with shelves for her alchemy apparatus, a dresser for her clothes, legions of shelves lined with chests full of ingredients, and crates stacked in a corner full of all of her potions.

She would scour the Serid River, and head home. If it wasn't so dark, she would head to the Brena and look there. And if it was dark, she would nip home and grab a few torches and look anyways. A grin spread on her face at the thought of staying out all night, and returning fatigued and tired to plop into her full double-bed with a down blanket. Getting up in the morning, and spending all day at her bench with her apparatus and ingredients... Maybe someday, she fantasized, she'd even make it all the way to Niben Bay, and all of its tributaries. She imaged looking for new flora, things that didn't grow near Anvil.

An hour later she arrived at the mouth of the river, and scooped up a handful of the Lotus seeds. Stuffing them into her knapsack she gathered some Water Hyacinth nectar. Hours passed, as she followed the river north. She had harvested everything she could lay hands on, and it was only noon. With a grin the size of the Imperial Palace, she headed West, her heart set upon the Brena River. Her dress was soaked up to the waist, but the smile on her face made up for it. Lost in thought again, she picked her way carefully West.

She was so wrapped up in fantasy that she hardly noticed the Ogre she walked into. With a gasp she returned to reality, and with an oath she drew her dagger. The ogre lunged forward and she winced as both fists hit her shoulder, hard. Stepping backward, she sheathed the dagger and looked for something, anything that would offer an escape route. Another blow sent her reeling, and she scrambled up just in time to avoid a side swipe. On her feet again, she backed away, and felt her back hit a tree. An instant too late, she tried to dodge, and fell unconscious at the Ogre's feet, the whiz of something flitting past her ear the last thing she could remember.


	2. Chapter 2

First off, thanks to Moogle from Cyrodill for the review. And now, for a short intermission which shall happen as a mini-story throughout the story. It's relevant though, I swear it.

* * *

The sun set, a crisp red and orange mingled in the sky, as the young Orc male sat outside an Ayleid ruin watched. He was waiting for his band of thieves to return from inside. It had been almost a day, and they hadn't returned. How hard was it to go inside, swipe a few Welkynd stones, and beat it back out? The place hadn't been inhabited, he had checked it out himself. There was nothing to bother them, unless...

Unless they got stupid and wandered into the lower levels. He had warned them against going in any door with a glowing blue-green tree upon it. But if they hadn't listened to him... They would be dead, he knew. Dangerous creatures resided in the lower levels of the Ruins, along with traps... He'd give them another couple of hours, and then he'd go in after them. He wasn't their leader for nothing, he knew. He was the leader because he was the strongest, he had the brains, and his sword was the biggest.

They needed at least 10 Welkynd stones in order to get paid. Their contract was for 10 Welkynd stones, and any Varla stones they could come across. And if his crew was dead, he mused happily, then he could have the whole payment to himself. So he sat and he waited, a grim smile on his face, for the hours to pass. 


	3. Chapter 3

Like I said, the mini-story is relevant to this story, and now on with the main story.

* * *

When Menellis awoke, it was a very different environment than the one she last remembered. She had been on the coast, harvesting ingredients, and there had been an ogre... And a strange whiz. She opened her eyes, and looked around.

She was in a small shack, and even the word "shack" was stretching it a bit. It was dimly lit, and dirty. Well, not dirty, she corrected, just not clean. There wasn't dirt everywhere, but the walls were...un-wallpapered. The wood was not polished either, it was just boards... As her eyes roamed the room, she noticed for the first time, the Khajiit sitting at the table. He had a toothy grin on his face, but he didn't look unkind.

"It's awake!" He chuckled. "You've been out for a couple of days, we were worried the Ogre had finished you off." He paused as the door opened, and a male Bosmer stepped in, his brown hair soaked, but with a grin on his face. He set a handful of pearls onto the table, and grinned at Menellis.

"You're alive," he beamed. "You know, a pretty little thing like you shouldn't be out adventuring on your own. Nasty creatures live out in the wild, and that little elven dagger isn't going to do much against most of them."

"Uh..." she paused, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Thanks for the advice, but where-"

"You're in the Waterfront District of the Imperial City." The Khajiit answered.

"Oh... But-" Menellis looked confused.

"We already found your family, Menellis. Your parents are sending someone to fetch you right now." The Bosmer answered, dramatically.

"There's no ransom, I hope?" Menellis was suddenly worried. If they were bandits, then surely they'd want a ransom. And her parents would pay it, but she'd never be able to wander out in the wilderness alone...

"Wha-" The Bosmers' easy grin faded. "You think we're bandits?"

"Aren't you?" She sat up now, her eyebrows high.

"Oh, sure. Right, we're a band of bandits that just go around rescuing damsels in distress from Ogres for the reward. We make a good living at it too," the Bosmer man shook his head. "No, we're not bandits. We were in a goblin cave and just happened to come out when you fell unconscious. Quite a nice swoon, I might add."

The Khajiit just grinned, and shook his head. "A couple of poisoned arrows from my pal Thoran, and a knock over the head with a sledgehammer finished him off."

"An arrow...," she repeated, half-smiling. "I heard an arrow before I fell, but I didn't know what it was... I really want to thank you for rescuing me."

"We don't need a thank you. Your parents are sending someone to fetch you, and they ought to be here soon. But," the Khajiit paused, and withdrew something out of a sack on the floor. "Your flowers got crushed."

She stood and took them, suppressing a small cry. She'd spent all day collecting those, and they were ruined. Now she'd never get to go out again, and what she'd gone out to gather had been crushed. She tossed them into the fire with a frown, slightly pleased at the floral odor that filled the shack.

"So now what?" She asked quietly. She'd never been to the Imperial City, and would like an opportunity to look around.

"We wait."

"Wait," she repeated, non-plussed. "I really don't want to just sit around and just wait."

"So go wander around, I don't give a damn," the Bosmer man snapped. She just shot him a dirty look.

"Thank you for rescuing me," she gushed in a way that only a trained noble could do. Here's a little gold for your trouble." Without even looking she dug into her coin purse and withdrew about 1000 gold and plopped it down on the table between them. As she opened the door, she could have sworn she heard the Khajiit mutter.

"If we'd wanted gold, we could've just taken it."

As she closed the door behind her, she glanced around at what they had called the "Waterfront District." It wasn't a pretty place, it was full of beggars and poor people. All of the houses were shabby and unpainted, and it would have appaled her if she hadn't been raised to be compassionate. A tiny Imperial girl scampered up to her, eyes wide, and dirt smeared all over her face. She had been playing on the shore, Menellis guessed. But she looked happy.

"Pretty lady," the little girl cooed, "could you spare a coin?" From the look of the little girl, Menellis' heart was shattered. Nobody should have to live like this, crammed into tiny houses, having nothing to play with but mud and shells.

"Of course I can," Menellis opened her coin purse and withdrew fifty gold, and carefully placed it in the girls' outstretched hands. When the girls' eyes went wide and she scampered off, Menellis only smiled. At least, until the girls' mother walked up to her.

"Oh, you think you're all high and mighty, don't you?" A very dirty looking Imperial woman snarled. She didn't have any weapon, Menellis noted quickly. "We don't need your stinkin' charity!"

"Ma'am, she asked-"

"I know very well what she asked! Don't you think even for a second that we want your filthy noble money! Bet you never worked a day in your life, have you, noble girl? Never know what it's like to earn 50 gold all on your own, through your own work!"

"Ma'am, really, I have-"

"Oh right, poetry and all the other high-noble "work." Well let me tell you something, noble brat-"

"Is there a problem?" Menellis' eyes went wide as she turned, and found herself face to-shoulder with no other than Hayden Estina. She gasped, and threw her arms around him. He only laughed lightly. "Glad to see me, are you Menell?"

"Hayden, Hayden, you haven't come home in forever! I've missed you! Mom and Dad have missed you! How have you been-" She stopped, and laughed lightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go all Mother all over you." She brushed idly at his shirt, brushing away imaginary dirt. She hadn't even noticed that the Imperial woman had already walked away.

"What was that all about, Menell?" He scooped her up and planted a light kiss on her forehead, and placed her on the ground again. She just beamed at him. They were both seemingly unaware of the eyes that were watching them all around.

"A little girl," Menellis began, "a very sweet little girl came up to me and asked me for a gold coin. So I told her I could spare one, and then I gave her...well...49 coins more than what she'd asked for. Her mother got all angry at me, but really, the little girl had just asked me for it...I wasn't about to say no."

"You always were a softie, Menell. He glanced around, grinning at her. "Look, these people are a proud bunch. The kids don't know any better than to not ask. So when they do, just give them what they asked for."

"But one coin, Hayden? You can't get anything for one coin."

"I know, but if she asked for one, then she meant one."

"Ugh," Menellis scrunched up her nose, and sighed. "I was just trying to be nice,"

"I know you were. But people don't take kindly to nice people. Not around here at least. These people are protected by the Gray Fox, and he watches over them. They're not as well off as most people in Cyrodill are, and He takes pity on them. They don't have to be nice if He's taking care of them."

"The Gray Fox? You've got to be joking. He's a myth, something the Imperial Guard-"

"They believe in him, and somebody under the guise of the Gray Fox does donate money to them." All the while he had been steering them away from the crowd, and into the City. She only smiled when she found herself sitting on a bench in the gardens.

"But he's a myth isn't he? Nobody really believes there's a man called the Gray Fox."

"They do, Menell. Now what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing in the Imperial City? It's really a funny story but-"

"Mom and Dad were worried about you. They've been searching for you since you didn't come home the day you were supposed to. What happened, and where did you go?"

"I was out looking for Water Hyacinth, and Lotus, on an alchemic ingredient gathering outing. I had just gotten done searching the river when I decided I was going to the other river. But I was lost in thought, and I ran into this big, hideous, ugly monster. An Ogre I think, but Hayden, he was so scary! The most I've ever come up against was a stupid mud-crab, and they're so slow...It swung though, and I tried to dodge, I was terrified, and I backed myself right into a tree. Then I got knocked out but-"

"It was really stupid of you to go wandering off on your own. Why didn't you take Amius or one of your friends? You could have been killed."

"But I'm not dead, duh. A Bosmer man and a Khajiit man found me, saved the day just in time. I crushed my ingredients though." She sighed, and glanced at the clouds. "Mom and Dad are never going to let me go out alone again."

"So the Khajiit and Bosmer brought you here, and contacted Mom and Dad?"

"Yes, exactly like that. I was sort of skeptical myself, but they seemed trustworthy. And I stepped outside, saw the Waterfront..."

Hayden knew the look in her eyes, and he was almost afraid to ask what she had in mind. "What is it, Menell?"

"I'm going to fix it up."

"You're going to fix what up? The Waterfront? The people won't want that, you know. They're not happy being poor, but they're too proud to accept help from...someone like you."

"Someone like me? What-"

"A high-born, never gotten your hands dirty in your life, snotty noble girl."

"I'll have you know," she began, grinning, "that I have so gotten my hands dirty, and I'm not a snotty noble girl, thank you very much."

"You don't have to prove it to me." He was smiling at her, as he placed a small kiss on her forehead. "You've got to prove it to them. You've got to make an adventurer out of yourself, and prove it to them. Your first step, I think, should be to find the Thieves Guild. Don't be a stranger." He stood up, and began to walk away, leaving her confused.

The Thieves Guild was just a myth too! 


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks goes to Yithril for her input and help with the story, I really hadn't realized there were that many typo's in the story. So here's the newest chapter, and another one will be up soon. I went back and replaced the chapters with typo's in them.

* * *

"The Thieves Guild is a myth," she told herself quietly. "There is no such thing as a Guild for Thieves. Just the idea is ludicrous. If there had ever been a Thieves Guild now or in previous days in Cyrodill crime would be rampant. Which it isn't," she thought, scowling. "How am I going to find something that doesn't exist?"

In her wandering, she found herself back onto the Waterfront, and with a sigh she sat down upon a rock. A beggar came up to her with a half-smile. "Spare a coin for the infirm?" He pleaded. And with a grin, she complied.

"What do you know about the Gray Fox?" She prompted.

"He's a fairy-tale, the Imperial-" The beggar man began, in a very trained, very practiced dialogue.

"How does fifty gold sound? What do you know about the Gray Fox?" She repeated.

"Make it 200," the beggar bargained.

"You know, you drive a hard bargain for being a beggar." She handed over the gold and smiled.

"Meet Armand in the Garden of Dareloth at midnight," the beggar slinked off, and Menellis was left even more confused than she had been.

Who was Armand, and where was the Garden of Dareloth? She sighed, and stood up, stretching lazily, and catching the eye of the Bosmer man who lived in the shack at the end of the lane. She smiled cheekily and approached him.

"Excuse me," she smiled, and batted her eyes at him, "do you know where the Garden of Dareloth is?"

"I might, depends who's asking," he grinned at her, and she realized for the first time just how charming he was. "Who wants to know?"

"I want to know," she chimed. "I want to know where the Garden of Dareloth is, so if you'd please tell me, I won't bother you again."

"Why do you want to go to the Garden anyways? They say the Thieves Guild Doyen hangs out there."

"What's a-"

"Look, what I'm saying is that the Thieves Guild isn't something you should take part in. You wouldn't want to ruin your nice manicure while spending the night in jail for breaking into someone's home and looting their goods."

"I don't have a manicure, thank you."

"It doesn't matter, Ms. Estina. You wouldn't fit into the Thieves Guild."

"How would you know? Are you an undercover agent too?"

"If I told you," the Bosmer man said with a grin, "I'd have to kill you."

"That is so cliché," she only shrugged, and brushed a lock of his light brown off his shoulders. "But if you want to play hard to get, then I'll play. What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"I'm not interested," he replied with a haughty smile. "I've already got a girlfriend."

"Hmmf," she only shrugged. "I never said I wanted to date you. I was just going to charm you a little, wheedle out a little bit of information. But I guess that's not an option. So I'll bribe you a little, and hope I get something out of it."

"You won't get anything out of it," he grinned, "but you can try anyways."

"Nah, I'll go hit up some beggar instead. I get more information out them, thanks for your time, uh..."

"Thoran."

"Right, thank you for your time, Thoran."

"You don't need to be so formal," he scoffed. "Try treating me like a person, instead of a commoner."

"Excuse me? I don't treat you like a, a commoner."

"You do. Try it without your haughty "I'm-a-little-noble-girl-and-I'm-better-than-you" tone."

"I don't have a haughty I'malittlenoblegirlandI'mbetterthanyou tone!"

"You just used it, right there." He grinned, and began to walk away. She would have followed him, except that she wasn't in the mood, and a Nord stepped into her path at that moment.

"I told you you shouldn't have gone out wandering on your own," he had his hands on his hips, and she raised an eyebrow at him cheerfully.

"And who are you?"

"Menellis, sweetheart," he rolled his eyes, and suddenly she realized who it was. Without his Guards' amour, Amius cut a rather striking figure. She realized for the first time ever that he was rather attractive. He had crystal-clear blue eyes, a strong jaw line, and a smile that suited him. His satin blonde hair was long, all the way to his broad shoulders, and was free except for two braids that framed his face. He was fair-skinned, and also very, very well muscled.

"Amius!" She squealed in a true teenage girl fashion, and threw her arms around him in a hug. "What are you doing here!"

"You know, it's really a long story, and one that you ought to know," he patted her on the back, and plastered a goofy grin on his face. "You see, there was this young girl, quite a pretty little thing, who decided one day that she was going to go out, on her own, and gather some ingredients for her alchemy experiments."

"A nice guard offered to go with her, but she refused, and got herself beaten up by an Ogre and some nice wandering adventurers found her unconscious. They brought her back to their home, gave her a nice bed and contacted her parents. Her parents were incredibly worried, but the nice looking Bosmer man assured them that she was well. And her parents decided that the nice guard should be the one to fetch her home, and give her a stern lecture on not adventuring alone."

"You know, that kinda rings a bell..." She smiled at him, and then dropped it the instant she saw that he was no longer smiling.

"Now here comes the lecture about not adventuring alone," he warned. She pouted a little, but was prepared to listen. "You're what, seventeen now? That means you're a grown young woman, and I don't know if you know this or not, but young women often fall in love with young men. And they get married, and have children. But sometimes men don't want to get married, they just want to use a young woman-"

"Amius, please, I know-"

"You're going to listen, Menellis. Like I was saying, they'd use any opportunity they had to get at her. So a young woman adventurer needs to be extra careful and either travel with another young woman adventurer, or a young male guard who would look after her."

"Amius, really, I don't-"

"You're right, Menell. You don't have an option here, because I've already resigned as a guard and gotten permission from your parents to travel with you."

"Permission from my parents! But I-, you-, resigned?"

"Yes, I resigned. I don't want you getting hurt, and the best way to prevent that from happening is to guard you myself."

"Really, that's noble of you but-"

"Menellis, the proper thing to say would be, "thank you for wanting to look after me, Amius, it's very noble of you.""

"Thank you for wanting to look after me Amius, it's very noble of you but-"

"It's really not a problem, Menellis." He picked her up with one arm, and settled her into the crook of his elbow before she could say another word. "Where can we eat around here? I'm starving."


	5. Chapter 5

"Amius, put me down," she protested. He just grinned at her, and shook his head. They were walking through the city, looking for the Tiber Septim Hotel, and getting strange looks from everyone they passed. She was still perched on his arm, he was grinning like a maniac.

"How else," he wondered aloud, "am I going to get you on my arm?"

"Wha-" She made a face, and gasped when he set her down, rather roughly, on a bench inside the Hotel. Then he walked up to the counter, very professionally, and rented two rooms. He came back over to her, offered her his hand, which she took, and escorted her to her room. "You know you didn't have to get a room for me. I could have gotten my own-"

"You could have tried, but I wouldn't have let you. Now I'm going to eat, did you see all of the food on the tables out there?" He walked off, grinning, as she searched the room. It was nicely decorated with an empty wardrobe, a chest, and a bed. On the floor was a red carpet, heavily detailed, and ornate. She shrugged off her cloak, and tucked it into the chest, then locked the door behind her. She sat across from Amius at the large table.

"So, what were you saying that sent the Bosmer man all off in a huff?" He asked her. She picked at some corn, and settled for drinking a small glass of Tamika's West Weald.

"I was trying to get a bit of information from him, and he wasn't having it. Told me off, complaining of me treating him like a commoner. I've never treated anyone like that."

"Maybe he just doesn't like you," he suggested. She shrugged, and ate a small chunk of baked potato.

"I was only trying to get some information. He seemed nice enough, it's just that as soon as I asked about the Thieves Guild, he went all, "that's not for you," and shut me out."

"Why do you want to find the Thieves guild?" Amius asked, puzzled. "You're not a thief."

"How would you know," she questioned. "I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do, so I could be a thief if I wanted to."

"If I were still a guard," he cautioned, "I'd have to arrest you."

"Well you're not still a guard, Amius, and you don't have the proper authority to arrest me, anymore."

"You didn't answer my question, though. You just neatly tip-toed and side-stepped around it. Why do you want to find the Thieves Guild?"

"I'm not looking for the Thieves Guild, I'm looking for the Gray Fox."

"The Gray Fox, Menell, is a myth."

"No, he's not. I'm going to find him because I want the Waterfront."

"You...want the Waterfront...?"

"Yes, I want to fix it up. Those people can't possibly be happy living in those trashy little homes-"

"But what does he have to do with this?"

"He owns the Waterfront," she said simply. And the puzzled look on his face made her grin. "He doesn't actually own it, but he protects the Waterfront."

"Why do you think," he wondered aloud, "that they're going to let you in on their top secret organization, and give you permission to take over the Waterfront?"

"Because," she smiled attractively, "I know how to get what I want."

"I think you're going to find it harder than usual, Menell. He's a wanted criminal, he's going to want your trust and loyalty before he just gives you permission to-"

"I know, I know, okay? But I know what I want, and I'm going to get it."

"What does it matter to you that the Waterfront is less than perfect in appearance?"

"Because my parents fixed up all of the marred houses in Anvil, and it made the place better. Do you know how many families were able to live in the new houses? A lot. So I want to fix up the Waterfront, so the people there are happy. Then they'll build new houses and even more people will move in."

"So you're going to fix it up for the good of the city?"

"Exactly. I'm going to fix it up for the good of the city." 


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the review from Ixifix, yes, she will continue with her dream to become an alchemist. How else is she going to fund her project?

* * *

After they ate, Amius decided he wanted to wander around the city. With Menellis close-by they wandered from district to district, Menellis collecting mushrooms and other small plants along the way. While in the Temple District she plucked the seeds from some lotus plants, and tucked them away into her pocket, smiling. Amius only shook his head at her, as they traveled into the Market District. 

With a squeal she threw open the doors to The Main Ingredient, and searched throughout the whole store before leaving empty-handed. She was smiling though, as she continued to chatter about everything she'd seen in the store.

"An apprentices' retort, alembic, calcinater, and mortar and pestal! Oh I wish I had those, do you know how much they would help!"

"Why didn't you buy them, then?"

"Because I..." she paused, and shrugged. "I guess I didn't want them all that bad." She smiled as they ended up at the Waterfront again. An idea sprang into her head. "I know how to find the Garden of Dareloth."

"You do?" Amius raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, I do."

"How?"

"I've got to follow that Wood Elf...Tharm? What was his name?"

"I don't know. But how is he going to help?"

"Well if we sneak around behind him, and my assumption that he's part of the Thieves Guild is correct, he'll eventually lead us right to the Garden."

"Menellis, that's insane." It wasn't the voice of Amius this time, though, it was the voice of a Wood Elf, one whose name she had forgotten. "And my name is Thoran."

"Well," she grinned sheepishly, "it won't work now that you know what I'm up to."

"No, it won't. I bet you're crap at sneaking anyways."

"I...don't know," she noticed that Amius was at her side, and one hand was resting on the hilt of his sword. "Why don't you just tell me then, Thoran, and we'll skip the sneaking around and stuff."

"The Garden of Dareloth," Thoran began, grinning widely. "I don't know if I want to tell you with that giant Nord at your side. He could chop me in half."

"Amius is my friend, he wouldn't-"

"Are you going to tell us or not?" Amius demanded. "Because we haven't got all day."

"I might tell you, and I might not. Care to walk with me?" He offered Menellis his arm, which she took. She missed the dirty look the two men passed each other, and they walked together along the shore of the Waterfront. "I've heard some talk around the City," he grinned. "that there's a girl who wants to join the Thieves Guild so she can meet the Gray Fox."

"Isn't that," she retorted, "why everyone joins the Thieves Guild?"

"No," Thoran remarked. "But we don't normally go out and recruit new members. It's not like we need new members."

"I don't want to join to be a thief! I'm not interested in that aspect at all."

"Then WHY would you want to join?"

"I'm looking for the Gray Fox, and the rumor goes that he runs the Thieves Guild."

"There are easier ways."

"Do tell," she prompted.

"Why don't you tell me what you're planning first, and we can go from there."

Menellis sighed, as she tried to think up a suitable lie. When she couldn't think of one, however, she decided that the truth would have to suffice. "I want the Waterfront."

"You..." He stopped walking, "would make these people homeless because you want to own a bit of land?" He looked ticked. She bit her lip and tried to think of a way to explain it to him. Before she could, however, he was walking away. She thought he heard him mutter a few curses, and then "selfish noble brat." She sighed and rolled her eyes as Amius joined her.

"I'm taking it that that didn't go well."

"No, that didn't go well at all."

"So what's your plan?"

"Tired," she muttered. "I need a nap." As the two of them walked back to their rooms Menellis was already forming a plan. She would have to slip away from Amius for a while, but she knew she could do it. She was going to do whatever it took to get Thoran to talk to her.


	7. Chapter 7

First off, thanks to the people who reviewed! I really appreciate the advice M'aiq the Liar, and thanks for the review Ra'jiira!

* * *

As Amius closed the door behind Menellis, he knew that something was up. She didn't give up that easily, he knew from experience. She was up to something, and he wasn't stupid. "_She's probably going to get herself into trouble_,"he thought bitterly, "_again._ " 

Then again, that had been the whole reason her parents had sent him after her. They had known each other since childhood, and been good friends all the while. Her parents had trusted him to protect her, to make sure that she didn't make stupid mistakes and get herself hurt or killed.

She knew nothing about living a hard life. Her parents, being wealthy, hadn't really shown her what it was like to not have everything she wanted handed to her. Sure, she had worked hard on her Alchemy project, but he had a feeling that the experience alone was going to do a great deal of eye-opening.

He was lost in thought, leaning up against the door, when he felt it move against his back. He smiled, turned his head up, and his eyes met hers. "Feeling better then, Princess?"

"Damn," he heard her curse under her breath. "Yes, Amius, I'm feeling so much better. But really, I'm rather hungry, so I was going to-"

"Menellis," he cut her off, smiling in his charming way. "How long have we known each other?"

"Ten, eleven years? But what does that have to do with anything?" She batted her eyelashes at him, but frowned when it didn't work to soften the frown he now had on his face.

"So you and I know each other pretty well, then? We've been friends for eleven years, we ought to almost know what the other one is thinking."

"Damn," she cursed again. "Amius, let me explain what I plan to do, and then-"

"Then I can tell you that it's a stupid plan and talk you out of it. This sounds like fun."

"Damn," she exclaimed. "DAMN, damn, damn, damn, damn."

"My, you're feeling rather articulate today," he grinned as she swung at him, punching him in the now un-armored shoulder. "You punch like a girl." He was smiling as she grew more and more furious.

"I don't understand," she began ranting, "why nobody ever wants me to do things for myself. They're always like, "Oh, let me get this for you" or "Oh, Menellis, we can have so-and-so get that for you!" Well I'm tired of it, Amius! I'm tired of nobody having any faith in me, and all I want to do is prove myself!"

"Whoah," he commented quietly. She was looking tearful and furious both at the same time. "Hey, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Hmmf," she was sulking now, sitting across the hall from him. "Then let me handle this."

"I really think that you can't handle this," Amius replied. "Look, Menell," he began, his voice softer now. "It's nothing against you, but you're not exactly very skilled in speechcraft. The guy, Thoran, he doesn't want to talk to you because you don't know how to charm him."

"Oh, well that helps my self esteem," she snarled. He just smiled lightheartedly.

"Yeah, but I know a way that we can solve that."

"What, my low self esteem, or the fact that I'm not any good at speechcraft?"

"The second one. Now, if you'll follow me," he stood, a smle on his face as he helped her up. "We've got some shopping to do."

* * *

A few hours later Menellis and Amius were standing on the shores of the Waterfront, smiling like maniacs. Menellis had a few scrolls tucked up her wide sleeves, and Amius had an arm around her shoulders companionably. 

"Now we've just got to find Thoran," she said confidently. They were walking down the dirt path towards the shack that Thoran and the Khajiit lived. She rapped on the door diligently, and it swung open almost instantly.

"Hello, can I speak to Thoran please?" The Khajiit just smiled his toothy grin and ushered her inside, slamming the door in Amius' face.

"Menellis," Thoran was sitting in a chair, his feet propped onto the table. He didn't exactly looked pleased to see her.

"Thoran, I think we got off on the wrong foot earlier." She smiled, and extended her hand to him. "Truce?"

"I don't think you understand what you're planning to do to these people," he replied. he didn't take her hand, but motioned for her to sit in the chair opposite him. "Menellis, those people wouldn't have homes because you want to have this bit of land all to yourself."

"I don't think _you_ understand what I'm planning to do," she countered. "I don't want this "bit of land all to myself" as you've put it. I want to fix the Waterfront, give those people better homes, and find them proper jobs. Honestly, I don't see what's so bad about that." She shrugged, and sat back in the chair leisurely.

"How long d'you think the Nord will stay out there before he breaks my door down," Thoran asked suddenly.

"Oh, a few minutes longer," Menellis replied with a smile. "We can have this all settled by then, I'm sure."

"Okay, let's _assume_ for just a moment, that the Gray Fox agrees to let you fix up the Waterfront. Where are the people going to live in the meantime?"

"Oh...well I had't thought of that..." Menellis was suddenly looking very upset. "I've got to get the Gray Fox to agree first, then get the money, and then...figure that out." She wasn't looking so confident now.

"Why don't you get the money from your _rich_ parents?" Thoran asked nastily. He could tell in an instant that that comment was a mistake. She set her mouth firmly into a frown.

"I want to fund this project by _myself_."

"Is that because you don't think your parents will fund you, or because you're too proud to ask them? Or is it because you want to do this all on your own to "prove yourself" in a sense?"

"You sound a lot like a psychologist," she said with disgust.

"I seem to be the only one who's going to question your motives here, and I want to make sure that you've got the right ones." He wasn't smiling now, either. He looked just as angry as she was.

"Well I don't think that it's your place to question my motives. I know what I want, and I will get it, with or without your help. All I really want to know is where the Gray Fox is."

"I don't know," he replied. She just stood there, shocked. And then started sputtering.

"But you- I thought- The beggar- _You're supposed to be one of them_!"

"I never said I was," he replied with a smirk that completely fit his face. "Then again, I never said that I wasn't. And you were the one dense enough to assume that _just_ because I'm part of the guild I could tell you where the Fox was."

"I," she was frowning now, all confidence gone. "I guess this was a bad idea," she stood, offered him her hand again, which she shook, and walked silently out of the shack. Amius was of course waiting for her, looking pissed off in the worst way.

"Have a nice chat," he asked bitterly. When she only shrugged and bowed her head, he knew things hadn't gone well. "So, what happened?"

"I want to go home," she said quietly. She was staring at the ground, feeling like a complete failure. "You could have just told me this was a stupid idea. You should have tried to tell me this was stupid! I should just go home and learn how to spin yarn or something." She was being bitter, and he didn't like her tone of voice.

"I don't think it was a bad idea, and I don't think you should learn to spin yarn. I thought you wanted to be an Alchemist, Menell?"

"Yeah, well that was before I learned that I had a stupid dream that was completely unobtainable, and suddenly I see the light. All I wanted to do," she stifled a sob, "was help these people. I mean, yes, my original intention was to become an Alchemist, but I know I could help them! I could, but nobody wants to even give me a chance. I want to go home," she repeated.

"So you're just giving up then? You'll go home and forget all about these people and helping them? I guess I judged you wrong." It wasn't the voice of Amius beside her, but Thoran behind her. She turned, now staring at him full in the face with a fury she had never posessed before. She swung, hit him full in the jaw, and spun around again.

"Thanks for all your help, Thoran dear," she nearly shouted. She stormed off in the general direction that Amius had come. She assumed he'd have a horse, and she could go home.

"Quite a temper you've got on your hands," Thoran commented, turning to Amius. He was smiling though, and holding his jaw. "She doesn't have a bad arm either."

"Not mine," Amius grinned, holding up his hands in a truce stance. "Seems like you kind of pissed her off though," Amius was still smiling and the two of them began walking after Menellis slowly.

"She didn't like it when I told her that she couldn't have what she wanted. I told her I didn't know where the Fox was, and I don't. He doesn't leave messages for us like, "I'll be in Anvil for the next week vacationing!" or things like that. We hear from him once in a while, when he needs something done-" He stopped, noting Menellis approaching on a horse at a fast pace. "Your horse, I presume?"

"Yeah that's my horse. Menell-" Amius was cut off as she dashed right past him, and towards the bridge that connected the Waterfront to the City. She was an expert rider, he noted, but if he took his horse and got lost... "Fuck," he exclaimed. There was no way he could catch up to her. In an instant, Amius had Thoran by the shirt-front. "You're helping me get her back."

* * *

Tada! LONGER! 


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, I feel the need to write! So you're getting two chapters or more tonight. It all really depends upon what I feel like writing...

* * *

"Uh, okay," Thoran agreed. Amius let go of the Bosmer's shirt, and scowled. It had been a stupid, stupid thing to listen to Menellis' sob story. It had been even more stupid to let himself believe that she was in a bad mood. She had been playing him, he saw now. She would act upset, pretend to want to go home, take the horse and get into trouble. 

"Where," Amius demanded suddenly, "can I get another horse?"

"Not around here," Thoran smiled cheesily. "The stable hasn't been able to keep stocking them. Not becuase there's a big market, but because the owner of the stables keeps eating them."

"So Thoran," Amius put a hand around his new best friend, "how the hell are we going to catch up with Menell?"

"Good question!" Thoran was smiling like an idiot, which lead Amius to believe he had a plan.

"What are you thinking?" Amius wondered aloud.

"Know how to swim?" Thoran asked seemingly randomly. "Because that's not going to help. If you knew how to Water Walk, we might be able to beat her out of the city, then again, maybe not..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Amius demanded. Thoran just shrugged.

"You know, I've got an old map of the city here," he pulled a map out of his pocket, and thrust it at Amius. "But honestly, there's no chance we could catch up with her. We're going to need more than just us to track her down. We haven't even got horses. What kind of horse is that anyway?"

"It's a thoroughbred black horse. Faster than anything else alive."

"See, that's what I was afraid of. I mean, your dear bonnie lass is safe while she's in the city, but out in the wild...Let me put it this way, once she's out of the city, there are no guards to have her back. There are nasty things out there in the wild. Wolves, mountain lions--"

"You," Amius growled, "are being no help at all. He strode towards the water, the map still in his hands, spread out. "Now, I think that if we run in this general direction, we ought to at least come out close to where she's at. Or was." Amius stopped, noting Thoran's puzzled look. "What, you can't Water Walk?"

"Well, I mean, I can..." Thoran shrugged, and stepped onto the water. "I just don't think we've got a good chance of finding her before something or someone else does."

"We'll check the Wahwet Inn and ask them when she passed and what direction. If we can't get a lead there, you'll go back and get your little Khajiit friend and we'll all go in different directions. If I know Menellis, she'll stick to the path."

"But what if she doesn't? I mean, the wilderness is huge. Do you see how many places there are on that map? She could be in any one of them. We're going to need a search party of more than three, and I'm not going to be the one to fund extra people."

"Money is not the issue here. Finding her alive and before anyone else does _is_."

* * *

Menellis, meanwhile, was having the time of her life. She'd just passed a few guards, who had given her greetings, as she sped past them. As she crossed the final stretch of bridge, she felt exhilarated. With a smile on her face she examined the crossroads, trying to decide which direction to explore first. If she hadn't been worried about how quickly Amius would catch up to her, she would have gone into the Inn and asked where the nearest Aelid ruin was. 

Glancing down both paths, she sighed. She probably should have waited until morning to go running off, as it was quite dark now. She hadn't packed any torches, and she wouldn't have used one if she did. Amius was sure to be annoyed with her... But what did he know? Apparently he'd never wanted to explore, to have an adventure. No, he'd wanted to become a guard, and as soon as he was old enough he'd signed up.

As she looked around in the dark, she shrugged and turned down the right fork. She didn't have a map, she reasoned, so she couldn't exactly be sure in which direction she was traveling. She could at least tell Amius truthfully that she had thought she was going in the direction of Anvil. Not, she reasoned with herself, that she ever wanted to go back. What was there for her in Anvil? Her parents, sure, but did she want to live a sheltered, pampered life like the rest of them? No, she wanted adventure. She wanted above all else to become an Alchemist.

"You there!" came a shout from her left. "What are you doing wandering around this late at night?"

She slowed, assuming that it was a guard. The other person approached, and she gasped loudly. The man, an orc, was covered in blood. He reeked, she could smell him even though he stood four or five feet away. She made a grimace as the orc stepped forward, and held up a torch.

"Why, lookee here," he cooed. "It's a pretty little elven maid. Did'ja lose your way, princess?" He was talking quietly and advancing slowly. She was slowly losing her nerve. Her ears kept picking up the sound of twigs breaking around her, and she had the feeling she was being surrounded.

"I know exactly where I'm going," Menellis answered, sounding more brave than she felt. "Now if you'll excuse me," she turned the horse, but before she could move again, the orc had ahold of the reigns.

"Now princess, where do you think you're going? We're just having a friendly talk now, you can trust us." He was grinning, showing his crooked teeth. Menellis felt fear like she never had before.

"I doubt that," she retorted. She gave the reigns a jerk, and noticed that she was indeed surrounded.

"I'd like ye to meet my pals." The orc man began, and then he started to laugh. He sounded insane, Menellis noted. "I'm Burgo Gro-Grashvit. These here are my pals, the Murderers. What's your name, princess?"

"Estina," Menellis lied. "Please, can't we-" She didn't finish whatever she was going to suggest, because someone hit her over the head with something hard, and her world went black.

* * *

Burgo Gro-Grashvit was having the best day of his life. First, his band of Murderers had successfully plundered all of the Welykid Stones they needed for the contract. Second, they had found more than just old Aelid artifacts in Fanacascul. There had been bandits in the lower levels, bandits with a fair stash of treasure. He would have thanked the Nine for his good luck and be done with it had he not had a third blessing; finding a young elven maiden. She was pretty, and he imagined, quite agile. She could check the ruins for them, he imagined, much more quickly than he could. And, he was grinning now as he bathed in the Lake Rumare, he imagined that she would be quite a looker if they needed a distraction from the guards. 

He really couldn't have been happier, and he dressed, now smelling more like fish and less like blood. The girl, _Estina_ he reminded himself, was knocked out and trapped in a room in Fanacascul. He mounted the horse he had taken from the girl, and made his way swiftly back to his new hideout. "_She ought to be awake now_", he thought, and then he could talk her into joining his merry band of Murderers. He chuckled, then. What other choice did she have?

* * *

Okay, I guess the mini-story was included a lot sooner than I thought to include it. I mean, what's a good story without a guard in shining armour coming to rescue a poor unconcious elven maiden? 


	9. Chapter 9

Just out of curiosity, do you think that a "Teen" rating is an appropriate rating for this story, or should I change it to a "Mature?"

* * *

Midnight is not a good time to go knocking on the door of an inn to see if anyone has heard an elven maiden on a horse go by. Still, they had little choice, so Amius made Thoran knock. As the two of them waited in silence, Thoran began to fidget. A few minutes later a very angry looking Altmer woman answered the door. 

"What do you want," she demanded none too kindly. She sized them up in a few seconds and was about to close the door in their faces when Amius began to speak.

"We were wondering if you heard a horse pass by. It would have been, maybe a half-hour ago."

"Yeah, there was a horse. A nice little Bosmer woman on it too. Some big orc, a nasty looking thing covered in blood, human I suspect, abducted her. They headed Southeast. I don't know any more than that," she closed the door promptly, and Thoran gave him an I-told-you-so look. Amius would normally have clocked anyone who gave him that look, but he just shrugged.

"Know how to fight?" Amius asked with a grim face. He drew his sword, and held a torch in the other.

"Hey, I didn't agree to rescue her from a blood covered nasty orc. Come on, I don't want to get involved." Thoran looked very, very truthful. "Honestly, this isn't my gig."

"What is your gig then? Rescuing damsels from the clutches of ogres? You must make a fortune doing that," Amius spat. He looked very, very angry, and Thoran decided that he had to help, whether he wanted to or not.

"I guess I'm your new lackey," Thoran grumbled. He drew a short glass dagger out of his shoe, to which Amius scoffed.

"You think you're going to bring an orc down with _that?_"

"Well, I had thought you'd take on the orc, and I'd get Menellis out of the way." Thoran shrugged. "Left my bow and quiver at home anyways."

"Ugh," Amius commented, and handed his own sword to Thoran. Thoran gave him a skeptical look, but when Amius drew another sword from his other scabbard, he understood. "We go in to this together."

"And hopefully," Thoran added with a grin, "we come out of it together too." He took the torch that Amius handed him, and the two of them searched the ground for the horses' tracks.

All the while, Amius had a bad feeling in his gut. From the moment he had seen Menellis coming at him in a horse, he had felt this fear. He had known, somehow, that she was going to get into trouble. "_Now_", he thought bitterly, "_she's been abducted by an orc and the only help I have to get her back is an idiot Bosmer with a glass dagger._" The two of them were now following the horse-tracks, down a road he knew as the Gold Road. Was it just a strange coincidence that he was out to fetch her again? Or was she just so good at getting into trouble that he'd always be the one stuck getting her out of it? He sighed as the hoof-prints ended, and he was nearly sick when he saw why.

The horse, Amius' horse, had been brutally slaughtered. It was lying on the ground, not quite dead, not quite alive. Blood was everywhere, and he almost lost his stomach over the sight of it all. Thoran retched beside him, and all Amius could think to do was turn away before he did too.

"Well," Amius said blandly, "I guess we know we were going the right way."

"Yeah," Thoran added with a grimace, "but now what are we going to follow?" He was looking a bit pale, but Amius' smile couldn't have been wider.

"Foot prints. Great big bloody orc footprints." He glanced around and nodded in the direction of the footprints. He whipped out the map, scanned it, and pointed to a spot on it. "There's supposed to be an Aelid ruin up here. What do you think the chances are that they're holed up in there?"

"Oh, I'd say we've got about a 100 chance, seeing how the footprints lead that way," Thoran replied, and Amius got the feeling he didn't like the idea of facing a fully armed orc who apparently had a blood lust. They were sneaking along, hoping that the orc was alone, and he hadn't had the brains to post a sentry. Their hopes were answered when they found themselves at the door to the Ruin with no obstacles in the way. With a heave Amius opened the door, and drew his sword.

Thoran, behind him, did the same, and Amius thought he heard him mutter a prayer. They doused the torches, and listened intently before going down the stairs into the ruin.

* * *

"Estina," Brugo hissed. She opened her eyes wearily and sat up, holding her throbbing head. It took her a moment to realize where she was and what had happened and when she shot him a dirty look he grinned, showing her his very crooked and mean-looking teeth. "Thought you might want to get up, princess. We've got some dinner here for you, if you're willing to co-operate." 

"What exactly do you mean when you say "co-operate"?" Menellis asked, propping herself against a wall. A cold, damp wall, she noted. She seemed to be in some sort of cell, and he most definitely was the man with the key. She didn't like the look on his face.

"What other choice have you got, princess? Your big ol' boyfriend going to come and rescue you from the mean smelly orc man? Or you just going to rot away? How many days d'you think you can last without any food or water?"

"Three, maybe four," she replied, then regretted it. The orc man looked even more frightening when he was angry.

"Yeah, well we'll see about that." He made a point to eat the bread and cheese right in front of her. She could feel herself salivating, and hated it. She hadn't eaten since that morning...

"My big ol' boyfriend is coming to rescue me, you know," she said casually. "He probably won't be happy that I'm stuck here in a cage in some dungeon."

"I hope," Brugo replied, smiling nastily, "that your big ol' boyfriend ain't afraid of traps and a band of marauders. 'Cuz that's what he's going to have to get through just to get to you, princess. And when he does, he'll be tired and worn out. It'll be nice," Brugo thought aloud, "to kill your boyfriend before your very eyes."


	10. Chapter 10

Lights, Camera, ACTION! Prepare yourself for the longest chapter so far! Yay!

Also, I'd like to point out that my description of the Aelid ruin Fanascal is _not_ the same as the in-game one. The in-game one doesn't have very many traps, no twists and turns, or doors with glowy-trees on them. Call it artistic license. I get to make up the story here!

And I'm sorry for the delay in this, I'm in school right now, so I haven't had time to write with the going to school-shopping and stuffs.

* * *

Amius and Thoran walked silently down the spiraling stairs. "_It's unnerving,_" Amius thought sullenly, "_that there's no one else around_." He was about to signal to Thoran when he heard a noise in the room ahead. 

"I don't know why Brugo wants the elf-girl so bad. It 'ent like she's all that perty, and she's def'nitly not _experienced_."

"Yeh, but ye know he's al'ays look'n fer new recruits. And it 'ent like the girl's ugly. I wouldn't mind spending a few hours with 'er alone."

Mild laughter and general agreeance followed, much to the disgust of Amius. "_How dare they,_" he hissed internally. "_How dare they speak of her that way?_" He guessed he must have growled aloud, because Thoran shot him a warning glance a second later.

"Keep cool," Thoran whispered quietly. "Tell me how you expect to take down two Nords and a Dunmer."

"Silently," Amius whispered back. A nod passed between them, and they snuck quietly into the chamber, keeping to the shadows. Thoran was creeping behind the Dunmer man, while Amius positioned himself behind the larger of the two Nords.

"Eh, kinda makes me want my girl," the larger Nord was saying. "We 'ent been to Cheydinhal in a month, and I miss her somethin' terrible."

"What you miss," the Dunmer was saying, "is the sex." The other Nord laughed, and it was in that moment that bigger Nord and the Dunmer fell silent. It only took a moment for the last Nord to figure out what happened, and he stood up in a hurry. With a cat-like elegance and speed, Amius had slit his throat. He turned to Thoran, who was looking as if he'd be sick again.

"Well, they were easy enough," Amius was saying, with a nasty grim smile on his face. Thoran just shrugged and grimaced.

"What now?" He asked. Amius raised an eyebrow at his new partner-in-crime, and began looting pockets. Thoran made a face and reached into the Dunmers' pockets. He withdrew a small brass key, and a handful of gold.

"Hey, can I keep this?" He asked loudly. Amius just motioned to him to be quieter, and nodded.

"Keep whatever you want, but I doubt that these are the only things we're going to come up against in this place. I've got two keys and a scroll, you?"

"A key and some gold. These guys aren't exactly rich," Thoran muttered. "I thought there'd at least be a payoff for rescuing your girlfriend."

"She is not my girlfriend," Amius retorted, scowling, "she's a friend that I'm supposed to be taking care of."

"Well if she isn't your girlfriend," Thoran was grinning now as the two of them checked the barrels and chests in the room. "I might just try to get close to her." The look on Amius' face told him all he needed to know, and he grinned even wider.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Amius growled.

"Mmm, a little testy for someone who doesn't have a _girlfriend_," Thoran teased. Amius swung at him angrily, hitting him in the jaw.

"Shut up, will you? It's not any of your business." He held up a rotten head of lettuce and tossed it aside. "Come on, Menellis is in trouble."

"Yeah, your-" he stopped, and just smiled. The two of them went into the left side-passage, and Thoran gasped loudly as giant blood-stained blades swung from the wall. Ten or twelve of them were swinging in a pattern, one to the left, and the next to the right, then they switched directions as if they were on pendelums. "We are so screwed," Thoran murmured, as Amius shrugged, and watched them intently.

"Wait for my signal, after I go," Amius hissed. "When I call for you, run as fast as you can. But WAIT until I call for you, unless you want to be chopped into a blood pulp. Understand?"

"Understood," Thoran replied. He was internally wondering why on earth Bandits would hide in such a dangerous cave, and he watched Amius run through the chopping blades. But soon Amius was out of his line of sight, and Thoran could only hope that the groan he heard hadn't been Amius' last words.

"Three," Amius began counting, "two," Thoran was holding his breath, "one," the Wood Elf braced to begin his sprint, "Go!" Without another thought Thoran dashed through the blades, narrowly dodging each of them. When he reached the end he saw Amius had an arrow sticking out of his forearm and a dead bowman at his feet.

"'Ja do that," Thoran croaked, staring at the arrow protuding from his companion.

"Yeah, he was waiting for us, sentry I think. It doesn't really matter, he's dead and there wasn't anyone else around him." Amius was grinning like a mad man, scaring the hell out of Thoran.

"You've got an arrow," Thoran mentioned, pointing. Amius just shrugged and broke off the larger portion of the wood, which confused the elf. "What-"

"Look, the arrows are double-bladed. If you pull it out it does just as much damage as it did when it went in. So I'll get it removed professionally later," he smiled, and motioned for Thoran to go ahead of him. The wood elf didn't seem very enthusiastic as they walked down a curving staircase into a large and empty white room.

"This looks suspicious," Amius muttered, throwing an arm in front of Thoran's chest. The wood elf had been walking forward obviously oblivious to the dangers the room had in store. Amius racked his brain, trying to think what he had been taught about Aelid ruins from his guard training. And the only thing he could come up with was to stay away from them.

Glancing around, Amius couldn't come up with any reason they should proceed with caution, but his insticts told him to proceed with caution. Everything in the room looked like it belonged there, nothing looked particuarily dangerous. The floor seemed free of traps, except...except for a raised piece of flooring in front of them. It was a few inches higher than the rest of the ground, and Amius had a bad feeling about it.

"Dont," he hissed to his companion, "touch that. I'll be right back." Amius headed back up the stairs, and a bewildered Thoran waited for him to return. A few seconds later Amius came back down and motioned for Thoran to join him on the stairs. The Bosmer stood behind Amius as he drew his newly-acquired bow and held an arrow ready. Aiming carefully he shot the arrow into the center of the raised tile and waited.

His assumption had been correct, and he smiled as walls enclosed the square. He got the nasty feeling that he didn't want to know what would happen if you happened to be stuck inside the box. Walking down the stairs carefully he skirted the tile and Thoran followed. He was frowning as three bandits approached apparently drawn by the sound of the trap going off. Amius stood on one side of the doorway, crouching, and Thoran stood on the other, waiting for them to get closer.

"Mebbe it was jest a few rats," one was saying. "I mean, the place jest keeps spawnin' 'em."

"Nah, I thinks some'un is after that elf girlie. Brugo was jest talkin' to 'er, and I over'eard 'er say that 'er boyfriend'd be after 'er."

"Yeah,the girl said 'e's a nasty big thing, Nord was it?"

Thoran raised an eyebrow at Amius, to which Amius shrugged. The first stepped into the room, and Amius thrust his sword into his side as quickly as he could. Thoran gaped as the bandit fell over, and the other two charged into the room.

"OI! INTRUDERS!" One shouted, and Amius rolled his eyes and sighed, blocking the bandits' mace swing. He glanced at Thoran, who seemed to be having a hard time taking care of the larger Orc which seemed to be at least twice the Bosmer's size. With a sideswipe he chopped a hole in the bandit's leather armor and sent him back, staggering. With a glance to Thoran they exchanged opponents, and found they were evenly matched.

Adrenaline began to course through Amius' veins as he slashed out at the Orc and was jarred backwards as his opponent blocked with his shield. Left, right, block, step backwards-- Amius suddenly had an idea, and apparently Thoran had already thought of the idea. The two of them were both taking backwards steps towards the center of the room where the raised tile stood. A nod passed between them, and Thoran dashed to one wall while Amius stepped onto the tile. His stomach lurched when he realised what happened if you happened to be the one inside the box.

An acid-green smoke began to come up from pipes on the ground that hadn't been there before. Amius coughed once, and held his breath, counting to try and stay concious. "_How long had it taken for the walls to go down_?" He wondered. He saw the Orc slip to the floor, the one Thoran had been dealing with had already gone down.

"_One..."_

_"Two..."_

_"Five..."_

_"...Eight..."_

_"...Six...teen..." _

Finally the walls went down, and Amius slumped to the floor, in a coughing fit. He didn't have long to recover, however, as two more bandits stepped into the room, growling menacingly. Amius saw Thoran snatch the bow off of the bottom step and notch an arrow, which whizzed past his ear and struck the one on the left. Amius meanwhile had staggered to his feet, and stood unsteadily chugging a _Strong Potion of Healing_. He felt a little better when he finished it off, and he grinned at his Bosmer friend who was keeping the bandits at bay with a heavy rain of arrows.

Though Thoran was going a fine job of keeping them on the other side of the room, he wasn't doing much damage to them, Amius noticed. He gave a grim smile as he drew a scroll out from his sleeve, and steadied himself. They were coming at him, he had only a moment to react-

"_Magicka norith avant lo, loria neleth!"_ With a flash of blinding light the scroll activated, singing and killing the two bandits in front of him. The magic contained within had been a powerful flame scroll with an area of 4 feet, and that was how close to him they had been. He dropped the ashes of the scroll onto the floor, and motioned to Thoran that it was okay. No other bandits would be coming, he thought, because most Aelid ruins happened to be more than one level deep.

"You're bleeding," Thoran commented, but Amius just shrugged. The Bosmer went about collecting his arrows again, and Amius looted pockets, coming up with a handful of gold and a petty soul gem.

"The real treasure must be wherever their leader is," he decided, and Thoran grimaced. The two of them moved the bodies into a dark corner, careful not to step onto the wall-raising tile. With his newly acquired arrows in a quiver on his back, Thoran accepted the gold Amius handed him.

"Don't you want half," Thoran asked blankly. "I mean, we should split it, don't you think?"

"I don't need it," Amius declared, putting on one of the dead bandits' fur helmets and admiring it. "I think we're going to have to blend in, though, if we want to go any further."

"I don't really want to go further," Thoran commented, picking up a sharp piece of the broken mace "but I'm not backing out now. How many levels do you think are in this place?" He dropped the mace-piece and kicked it aside, grimacing at Amius' answer.

"One, maybe two more. Possibly three, depending upon how old this place is and if it's caved in at all. More traps too," he added bitterly, noting that the arrow protuing from his arm was now gone, and the gash was bleeding freely. He ripped a piece off of the one of the bandit's shirts and tied it up, then sighed, pulling off his own clothing and exchanging it for the bandit's fur armour. It stank, Amius noticed, but he knew it was the only way he and Thoran were going to get to Menellis alive.

As Thoran donned a suit of armour like his, they headed up the stairs the bandits had come from, and dodged another set of swinging-blade traps. They paused briefly at a door with a tree shining upon it, and Amius bid Thoran to enter first. The wood elf did, and Amius followed him down a long series of stairs and they stopped on the landing, recovering their breath. Amius studied their surroundings while doing so, intensely suspicious of the room.

When he could find nothing wrong with it, and they had both regained use of their limbs, they explored the room. It was uninhibited, and things were strewn all over the floor. Junk mostly, including clothing, a broken sword and some rotten food. Sitting upon a table against a wall were a bunch of alcholic drinks. Amius had the feeling that this room wasn't being used at the moment, but it was being used. He swiped a bottle of mead and cracked it against the wall for good measure, then swiped the Weylkid stone off of the table.

"What the hell is this," he asked Thoran, tossing the jewel-like stone to him. Thoran examined it with a look of confusion and curiosity, but shrugged.

"Some kind of Aelid treasure, I suppose. Think it's worth anything?" He pocketed it, then ambled over to a sack on the floor next to a bed roll. He looted it, and turned to Amius, who was reading something with a strange look on his face. "What've you got there?"

"A note," Amius grumbled, thrusting it into his pocket. "It seems somebody wants a ransom for our pretty little elven maiden." He was obviously in a bad mood, and that didn't improve when two kahjiit stepped into the room. The two cats didn't seem to notice their presence until Amius lunged at them. The kahjiits didn't seem to think they were going to need help, as neither one of them called for help as Amius finished them off looking very, very angry.

"It seems somebody is upset about somebody wanting a ransom for our pretty little elven maiden," Thoran observed politely. Amius narrowed his eyes as he stalked forward into another room without another word. Thoran followed reluctantly, not wanting to be on Amius'bad side, but when he stepped into the room behind him he saw that he shouldn't have followed at all. Amius was throwing a tantrum, it seemed to Thoran, and taking his anger out on a skeleton and two maurarders. He wasn't having any difficulty winning either, Thoran noted. Amius was fully capable of taking on three enemies at once.

With a twinge of guilt at his own cowardace he notched an arrow and let it loose, and it sunk deep into the glass greaves of one of the maraurders. It grunted and swung heftily at Amius, which he dodges as he delivered the killing blow to him. The second maruader, Thoran observed, seemed to be giving his Nord friend a hard time, dodging attacks and countering, but Amius swung at her with more force than necessary and knocked her back against the wall, dead. The skeleton, meanwhile, had dissapeared.

"Doesn't seem like you need my help," Thoran noted, watching Amius loot the bodies and sit down on the ground between them. "How did you make the skeleton disappear?"

"I didn't. It was summoned. You kill its summoner, it dissapears." He was looking grim and worn out, and Thoran was getting a bad feeling from the whole situation.

"Is there something on your mind?" Thoran inquired, quite reluctantly. He didn't really care about the Nord's problems. Just a few hours ago he had been afraid that Amius was going to knock his door in and skin him alive, and now he was having sympathy pains for him, just because he'd lost his girfriend-- No, Thoran corrected himself, she wasn't his girlfriend.

"I hate this," Amius growled loudly. "This _project_, the whole situation! She's so good at getting herself in trouble, and now I'm fighting my way through a _fully trapped and armed Aelid ruin_. This is so _stupid_," he ranted, "I don't want to be slashing my way through bandits, maruaders and skeletons to get to her. I hate her stupid "Waterfront project" and I wish she didn't have stupid little ideas about "adventures.""

"Well you had them too, didn't you?" Thoran asked carefully. He noted the muscle twitch on Amius' jaw, and smiled a little. "Isn't that why you wanted to be a Guard?"

"Oh yeah, it was "fun."" Amius muttered bitterly. "I don't even know where she is, and I'm tired of the hack-and-slash, being covered in blood bit."

"So let's go get the guards, and make _them_ go rescue your damsel-in-distress." _"There,"_ Thoran smiled to himself, _"I've touched the nerve."_

"We've already come this far, we can't just leave," he sighed as he stood up, and stripped free of his blood-spattered fur armour. He exhanged his fur cuirass for a glass one, along with the rest of the pieces of armour, and picked up the silver shortsword from one of the dead victims. He handed it to Thoran, who gave Amius back the sword he had loaned him. Amius tucked both of his swords into his belt, and picked up a piece of parchment the first maruarder had dropped. He passed it to Thoran, who studied the feminely scrawled note.

"_We've got all of the groceries you asked for for your party. We're shipping them off on Middas of Morningstar, they should reach you in excellent condition. Expect the party supplies in the next shipment in a few weeks._

_-Mum"_

_"_Sounds like code to me," Thoran remarked, handing the note to Amius, who hadn't yet read it. Amius scanned the page, and nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like they're smuggling something out of here, though I don't know what it is that they're smuggling. Maybe we'll get the chance to uncover a smuggling operation and reap the rewards, but first we need to find Menellis." He tucked the note into the collar of his curiass and glanced around the room. With a smile they followed a staircase down, and found themselves cornering a Breton woman. She was dozing on a rock, obviously supposed to be guarding the treasure chests that sat beyond the half-open white door.

Thoran snuck up to her and snatched the key from the necklace, and the two of them smiled to themselves as they looted the gigantic room. Stuffing their pockets full of gems and magical jewlery, they grinned as they left the room and headed back up the stairs. Taking a different turn, they ended up in another large white-walled room. Now cautious of such things, they scanned the room before proceeding. Standing in the middle of the room were two large stone pillars, each with three large square buttons on them encrusted with a blue glowing gem.

"Think we ought to poke those," Thoran wondered aloud. Amius was busy looking around the room, and as he could find no other exit, he nodded.

"We'd better be careful though," he replied. They stepped into the center of the room which was eriely lit from above by a large white crystal in a cage. "Let's just do them one at a time," Amius advised. His Bosmer partner nodded as he solemnly touched the top block on the left pillar. Silence, it appeared nothing had happened.

Thoran raised an eyebrow and looked around. There was nothing. No noise, no traps, no noxious gas or closing-in-on-you walls. Amius gave Thoran a shrug, and they pressed the remaining blocks. Then, they realized what a dire mistake they had made. Stone panels slid back from the walls, one for each of the blocks they had pushed. Watching the panels slide back with interested expressions, two skeletons slowly slinked out from each of the newly exposed rooms. Thoran, taking a quick inventory, turned to Amius with a serious look.

"We are _completely_ screwed."

* * *

BUHBUHBUHBUH! SUSPENSE:D

**oOoOoOo**

_"Please note that the phrase "magicka norith avant lo, loria neleth" is made up. It doesn't exist, and is jibberish. In magical jibberish it would mean "activate magic scroll, wrath of the flame." I just wanted Amius to have something cool to say as he uses that scroll. As an activation phrase. I don't know how else scrolls would work, you know? You can't just pull them out and use them, nor can you just have a spell in mind and have it start firing off from your fingertips. Okay? In **this** story, "activation phrases" will be used for instances when magic is used. Thank you._

_-Kiriu of the Board of Magical Jibberish"  
_


	11. Chapter 11

Ooh, I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews, they've inspired me to write some more (an in order to write, I need to play Oblivion too!) So, thanks goes to Ixifix, Opt1mus, M'aiq the Liar, Singer of Time, and Ra'jiira!

* * *

Estina had no idea how long she had been unconcious. It could have been the cold, or the hunger, or the boredom, but she had fallen asleep, and she didn't know what time it was, or how much time had passed. Taking a quick inventory of her surroundings, she discovered she'd been moved. Instead of a little cell, she was inside a room- she swallowed and rubbed her eyes to clear them, to make sure that she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She was inside a bedroom, made of the same white-rock the "Aelid" ruin was made of. Actually, technically, she was on a bed inside the room. The cover was made of green silk, the blanket underneath the silk was warm and made of wool. She stretched luxuriously, and slid out from under the covers just long enough to notice the traps set all around her. 

When she was younger, he father had told her all about his adventures. He had taught her about the wires used to activate traps, ones that dropped logs on top of your head, or swung spiked maces at you. He had taught her about the arrows in Forts that were motion activated, and the magic that would go off if you stood too close. Now, looking around the room, she could tell it was trapped in more than one way.

Lining the walls were drapes, like someone had tried to cover up the cold and wet room with a few tapestries. They did little to cheer the room, though, and were a terrible cover for the motion sensitive arrows, which jutted out from behind them. Attached between the four pillars surrounding her bed ran wires, and when she glanced up to see what they were attached to, she noticed swinging mace traps. She smiled at the simplicity of the traps, and stood on the cold stone floor.

Taking a step over the trap-wire line, she ducked as the arrows cut holes through the tapestry and launched themselves at her. They clacked off the floor harmlessly, and she made her way swiftly and confidently towards the door. Tugging on the large iron hoop did nothing, so she gave it a shove. Squeaking loudly, the door opened.

* * *

"Be confident," Amius hissed to his Bosmer friend. "Even if we have to face twelve-" 

"Fifteen," Thoran corrected automatically.

"Even if we have to face _fifteen_ skeletons, there's a good chance that one of those passages will lead to Menellis."

"The only problem is which one..." Thoran charged ahead, swinging his sword wildly. He slashed one skeleton through the spine, it crumbled at his feet. Just as he was about to take the amulet from around its neck, he felt the sharp blade of another skeletons sword slice his arm. The blood seeped out, thick and warm, and he growled, filled with anger. Thrusting forward, he sliced through one, then another. Fury overtook him, and he sweated as he hacked through skeleton after skeleton.

It wasn't until he struck a shield did his mind clear, and he found himself looking at Amius. The Nords eyes were full of surprise and admiration, and there was a smile on his lips. Thoran thrust his sweaty hair out of his eyes, and sat down on the floor.

"I've never seen a Bosmer fight like that," Amius said, looking down at him, leaning over his sword. "You're bleeding all over."

"I'm not an _ADVENTURER!_" Thoran cried loudly, glancing at the large gash on his arm. "I hate this. I don't want to help you rescue your stupid girlfriend! I'm going to get killed down here!" He was panting, and not any less angry than he had been. Amius didn't seem to notice, or if he noticed, he didn't care.

"She's not my girlfriend," he replied carefully, and uncorked a bottle from his belt. With a murmured incantation, he poured the liquid over Thorans arm.

"What the-" Thoran began, then scowled up at Amius. "What was that?" Running a hand over the cut, he realized it was gone, and all that remained was a thin scar and a little bit of dried blood.

"Nothing," Amius shrugged, and tossed the empty bottle onto the floor, where it shattered. "Look, if you want to go, that's fine with me. You know the way out, and I won't stop you." He turned then, and entered the nearest passage.

* * *

Closing the door behind her, and cursing silently, Menellis examined the corridor she was in. It was still the same white stone, so she was still in the... What had the Orc called this place? A Naelin Rude or something like that. She'd have to look it up later, when she found the way out. Taking a torch from a wall sconce, she felt her way down the hallway, carefully avoiding the pressure-sensitive trap. 

The sound of footsteps made her pause, and she cursed under her breath at not having a weapon. She could have picked up a few arrows off of the floor and used them. Sticking to the shadows, she watched Brugo approach. He looked angry, though that hadn't changed, she reminded herself. He always looked angry. What did he want with her anyways, she wondered.

He passed her, and she heard him muttering to himself as he did so. Not wanting to risk picking his pockets and getting caught, she made her way further down the hall. Voices, two or three of them, were coming from a side-room. Glancing behind her, she snuck into the room shadow-by-shadow, until she was safely hidden behind a stack of crates. Of course, she didn't know how long she'd be safe, because a very loud and angry cry reached her ears.

"THE GIRL HAS ESCAPED!"

* * *

Sorry this is so short. I just thought I'd say that this story isn't dead, and though my 360 died this weekend, I'm still working on continuing this story, and working on another OblivFic. I'm not sure about all the details of OblivFic2, though. Maybe I'll post spoilers later. I have Friday off. Chao!  



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